I am the younger sister who is a p/t care giver. I am overnight 4 days a week. I help them around the house, take them to doctor's appointments, go with them in the examination room to ask the doctors questions and make certain I understand the issues thoroughly (parents first language is not English and don't understand what's told them), take them grocery shopping, to the bank, etc. I've repeatedly asked my other brother, my only sibling, to assist. He lives 10 miles away while my home is 40 miles away. He says he will, but never shows. He's been passive-aggressive to me for years and years.
When I called him to help when my dad fainted and split his ear in half. Blood was gushing all over the kitchen. I thought dad had died. I was beside myself and called him to come by. He didn't. Dad had a heart issue and had a hairline fracture in his neck due to the spill. My brother did come to the hospital when I asked my mom to call him to come by.
I did "persuade" him to take my mom to the doctor's once. I asked my brother to sit in on the exam (no disrobing for mom) to understand her health issues. My parents told me my brother didn't want to go in and didn't.
I have asked my parents why he doesn't seem to help. They tell me he worked 12+ hours a day (starts work at 7am and goes until after 9pm every evening & weekend). He's a high school teacher at a private high school. I doubt his workload is this heavy. I could be wrong, but believe he is out with friends instead.
He's 60 years old, divorced and has a 30 year old daughter who is on her own. He does come once a week for two hours for Sunday dinner my mom cooks. He takes gifts of cash from my parents.
Has anyone had any experience with a sibling who refuses to help? I've asked nicely, I'm asked angrily, I've set boundaries. It's like talking to a rock.
Understand that he is not going to be involved in your parents' care and move on without him.
As he is a teacher, it is unreasonable for you to expect him to take time off work to take the parents to appointments.
I am concerned that he is receiving gifts of cash from your parents, that could spell trouble if you have to deal with a look back period.
I've hung around this forum long enough to know two basic facts
1/ the level of care needed always increases, and
2/there is no way to force anyone else to step up and do more.
Your brother could be lazy, he might even be an evil selfish prick; the only hopeful possibility is if he is just totally clueless and needs a wake up call. In the mean time you are slowly being sucked into providing increasing levels of care and you've come here because that needs to stop. So, if he can't be made to step up and you or your parents are unwilling to consider hiring help or moving what other kind of magic solution do you expect from us?
I want to discuss this as two children helping their parents. He doesn't even want this. That's what's so bizarre. At this point even Buddha would get a little hot under the collar. I really give up.
My husband and I walked that same road for years taking care of my in-laws. My BIL was useless. Even with six weeks of vacation from work each year, he couldn't/wouldn't be much help to his parents although he was happy to take help from them. Because we lived closer and I was a SAHM, 90% of their care was on me (my husband and his sister did the rest). I do believe that family takes care of family and wanted to be that example to my kids. Their needs started small but became very time consuming as the years passed.
Early on, we called for a family meeting to discuss his parent's needs. BIL said he would be there and then "forgot" to show up for it. When his dad was facing a surgery that he had a 50/50 chance of surviving, BIL told him that he wasn't going to be at the hospital because it was "just a bunch of sitting around waiting." Who thinks that way much less saying it out loud to a person who might die?
This is the same man who didn't visit his dad the week that he was in hospice (a 45 min drive). He didn't see his dad until he was unconscious and died a few hours later. It may make a small person, but I will admit that I think that was karma at work.
My MIL lived with us for two years. A year into it, BIL visited her and then proceeded to tell us how much care she needed (like he knew everything after spending a few hours with her). When my husband asked how BIL was going to help, he replied, "She lives with you, she's your responsibility." My husband called him an a##hole and kicked him out of the house.
All this to say, you are losing time and energy trying to change a brother who isn't going to help. I wasted that time and energy and am still dealing with the resentment. It doesn't go away easily. I wish I had found this forum earlier to hear of other's situations to understand that it's a lost cause to hope that this sibling will have a "change of heart."
We have very little contact with the BIL today. Only enough to be able to see his daughter. She turns 18 next year so the need for BIL will be gone then. It's doubtful that we will speak to him after she graduates HS.
As others have said, you may as well consider him MIA and make the necessary choices yourself (get the POA paperwork in order if needed - protect yourself!!). I understand that you are reluctant to look into outside help. I was also but that was a mistake on my part. There is nothing wrong with knowing that you can't do it all.
Looking back, I realize just how much caring for my in-laws impacted my family - good and bad. My kids saw us taking care of family and had so much time being treasured by their grandparents. They also lost a lot of their summer time being dragged around to take care of the grandparents. In hindsight, I should have told my in-laws "no" to their needs/requests more often so they would have widen their circle of support.
While I mostly lurk on this site, the people here are amazing with their wisdom and advice. No one replying to your letters is looking (or able) to make a buck. They honestly want to help in any way they can. It may not be the advice that you want to hear, but they have the experience to go with their words.
I hope the best for you and your parents. It may take a while but you are going to look back on this time in your life with pride and gratitude. The love, support, time and caring that you are giving your parents will come back to you.
I have to go now. Will return later today to read the rest. Take care all of you who responded!
And I think for all intent and purpose you do not have a sibling to help you, either. Knowing that he is unwilling to help you is the same as having no one. You are on your own with this. And all that you take on (4 overnights is a LOT if you have family), you take on on your own.
It is hard enough to do all you are doing without adding on the flailing at the windmill of your brother. He is NOT GOING TO HELP you. And you understand that on a deep level. So just leave it. You don't have to hope and beg and weep then. You just can leave him out of the equation unless he offers help.
What DOES matter now is how much longer you can take in all the responsibility for all of this. You have two elders in need of care, and I am assuming/presuming your own family as well. It may be time to think of things that WILL be or MAY be of more help for you. Such as hiring some help to do the work to be done.
I think that fighting the brother is somehow holding you back from realizing you cannot do this much longer. I suspect even with a more willing brother, perhaps the time is drawing near that this cannot be done without 24/7 care or placement.
I have utterly no idea the assets involved for your parents or their ability to provide some more care, but time to think in a more productive manner I think, leaving your bro out of the equation. Treat the whole thing as though he doesn't exist.
Perhaps write him a begging pleading LAST LETTER and let him know it is the last you will speak of this. Tell him that the amount of care your folks need now is overwhelming you, and almost impossible for you. Let him know that placement is likely in the near future, without more help. Tell him that you UNDERSTAND how hard he is working, and that he and his family need his time as well, and you are pleading with him for any help he can provide you. Tell him "If it is ZERO, do let me know; if you want to meet and arrange some availability, let me know; if you can help in an emergency or for a few overnights, let me know". Sign nicely and move away from expectations of the brother, concentrate on what you will do about/for your own life in light of what is happening with your parents.
I hope you will update us if you have any ideas that might work, or that do not.
What is the financial situation for your parents? Can they afford caregivers? Can they afford a facility? What's going to happen as they need more and more help? Right now, it seems like you are going to be expected to be the one to provide more and more help. Are you willing for this to happen? If not, better start making plans for another outcome now.
When you say, "I've set boundaries," what do you mean? Set boundaries with your brother? Or with your parents?
MMasonst, good luck with your Caregiving experience, everybody's is different and you just need to find one that works for you, without dealing with your brother, as clearly he is too selfish to participate, sadly! Don't waste your energy trying to figure him into the equation, it will only bring you pain and frustration!
Did anyone mention checking out your Counties AREA AGENCY ON AGING? Do look it up and see what programs might be available to help you with your folks. The will send out a Social Worker to evaluate your parents and see what specific help is available to them. They do great things!